I love herbal teas, but I don't always love the pricetag attached to getting tea leaves that are certified to be free from pesticides and chemicals.  Which got me thinking...I wondered if any of the medicinal plants on my little farm were able to be made into teas.  I did LOTS of research...I surely did not want to poison myself!  I found that some of my favorite teas made from Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) And Wild Blackberry (Rubus laciniatus) were teas that I could make from the plants growing around my property...totally free!!!


I continued to research just to be sure that there was nothing about the Raspberry plant or the Blackberry plant themselves that was at all poisonious and I discovered that I was sitting on plenty of free tea leaves for the taking!  So began my latest journey in homesteading!

I started by harvesting the leaves of the canes in a sort of random fashion.  I have everbearing raspberries, meaning that I get more than one round of berries from them a season so I did not want to kill off any of the canes by harvesting too many leaves from a single one.

Did you know that raspberries and blackberries operate on a 3 year cycle?  The first year a cane (stem) shoots up, the second year it flowers and produces and the third year it dries out and dies?  This all happens randomly in a patch so you will see canes with no flowers, canes with flowers and then berries and then other canes that are old and dried out prickers.

Next, I brought the leaves inside where you can wash and pat them dry.

Though I did put the leaves to dry in my food dehydrator I opted not to turn it on as I did not want to heat the leaves at all while drying (I learned from doing this with my peppermint leaves last year that it does alter the taste of the tea).  It took a few days to get the leaves to the point where they were "crunchy" and able to be crushed into my tea ball.

I have to admit that I am pretty excited by this as I can now dry and store my own tea!!! This will be pretty fantastic come winter time when a hot cup of tea is just perfect by the fire!

We love pickles around here...but not the sweet ones, just garlic, dill, hot, etc.  I used to go to all the trouble of canning my cukes to make pickles but there were two problems with that method. #1 My pickles were always soggy no matter what technique I tried...we don't like soggy dills.  #2 My family would eat a whole jar in one sitting so it seemed like such a waste to go to all the work of hot water bathing the jars only to have them gone before they were even ready to be preserved!  

So, here is how we have been doing them lately.

There you have it, Easy Peasy Refrigerator Pickles!!!

​

 I admit being a bit intimidated by this recipe when I found it,  but once I did it and saw just how quick and easy it was...game on! For the life of me I cannot recall where I found this recipe but I do know that it has only been around our home since last growing season when I had an abundance of basil and I was looking for some super recipes to use it up. 

Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts (depending on thickness)
sea salt and black pepper
3 T olive oil
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (I really like using romas but you can use any)
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
4 T cold butter
1/ cup fresh basil chopped into ribbons
fettucini or angel hair pasta
fresh parmesan cheese for garnish

Season the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper and heat the oil in your skillet.  This may seem like a lot of a oil but it is the base for your sauce.  While waiting for the oil to heat get your pasta water ready for the pasta.  When the oil is searing HOT, add the chicken breasts cooking for 6-8 minutes per side until the juices run clean when pierced with a knife.

After the second side has been cooking for 4-5 minutes add in your tomaotes, basil, garlic and cold butter as well as a few more dashes of salt and pepper and stir this all around to marinate the flavors.

When the chicken is done turn your mix down to low to simmer until pasta is done.  Drain pasta and ladel on the sauce and tomato basil mixture...you will not be disappointed!

I was making dinner the other night and was in need of just a little something else so I went searching for a recipe to fit the bill.  However, I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I created this recipe from a few sources and my own sweet tooth!

Recipe:
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
2 peeled and finely chopped apples

powerdered sugar for dusting

I mixed up all the ingredients together and then threw in the diced apples.  Heat a pan of about 2-3 inches deep olive oil to high and drop by 1/3 cup "plops" into the oil.  Turn fritter with tongs when browned on one side.  Pull out to drain on a plate lined with a papertowel and then dust with powdered sugar...WOW!  I served them with a side of apple butter to dip in and we demonlished them!

I have to brag.  I think I have come up with the best homemade brownie recipe ever.  Seriously, it tastes like chocolate orange truffles! If you like the mixture of chocolate and orange you have to try this...guests will be BEGGING for the recipe. promise.

I came up with this recipe by accident really.  I was making my standby chocolate mint brownies (always a hit) and I had to make two pans of brownies so I decided I had creative liscense since if the orange turned out badly...I had a backup.  Well, turn out badly they did not and the kids were fighting over the crumbs...seriously!

Here is the recipe I came up with...go ahead, thank me.

RECIPE:
 2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup melted butter (has to be REAL butter)
1 cup flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 drops orange essential oil (sold here)

FROSTING: 
6 T baking cocoa
6 T melted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
5 or 6 T warm water

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Add butter and mix well.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt then add and mix well.

2. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Cool.

3. For frosting, combine cocoa, butter and 2-3 drops orange essential oil (sold here).  Then gradually stir in powdered sugar and add just enough water to  create a spreading consistency.

The orignal recipie was handed to me by a dear friend at church when she and her husband and me and mine worked together to put on "Feliz Navidad" as the theme for our adult Christmas fellowship.  I have to say that knowing this friend greatly improved my Mexican cuisine on all fronts and I will forever be indebted to her for that!  I altered the original recipie a bit to fit our family's palette and this is the BEST!  No more plop out of the can with that mound of can shaped beans when you make tacos or burritos, this is the true, authentic, flavorful stuff!  When I make it I make a large pot, serve it as a side with whatever Mexican cuisine is on the menu and then use the leftovers to make bean and cheese burritos which I then wrap individually and freeze for a quick meal when needed.

1 lb dry pinto beans
4-6 FRESH garlic cloves (no powdered or dry herbs here)
4 T olive oil
1/2 white onion, finely diced
2-3 jalapeno peppers, de-veined and seeded
3 chopped tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup diced cooked bacon
1 tsp salt

I start early in the morning by doing a fast soak on the beans.  I just fill a pot to the top with water, dump in the dried beans, bring it to a boil and then pull it off the burner and sit it off to the side for about an  hour.  After that process I rinse the beans and dump them into a large crock pot with the olive oil and fill it to just barely cover the beans with water.  I turn it on high and walk away for about 6 hours.

When the beans are fork tender that is when the second step comes in.  I fry up the bacon and remove the bacon saving the grease to saute the other vegetables (onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes) I saute those together and then add the crumbled or chopped bacon back in along with the seasonings above. When all the veggies are fork tender I go to my beans, you only want enough liquid in the beans that they are barely covered and not dry but not so much that they are soupy.  I use about half of the beans by scooping them out of the crock pot and putting them into a food processor with the sauteed vegetables and bacon.  So now I have a flavorful mix of mushed beans and peppers with the tomatoes and seasonings I dump that back in my skillet and "re fry" the pureed mix for about 10=20 minutes until it is good and flavorful.  Then I add back to the crock pot so we have a nice mix of whole beans, pureed beans and so much flavor I dare you not to stick a chip in there and try it!  

So now you not only have a side dish but also plenty of beans to plop a dallop onto a tortilla shell, sprinkle with cheese and roll up burrito style then wrap in foil to freeze individual bean and cheese burritos...when you are ready to eat them just pop them out one by one and microwave for 1-2 minutes, top with sour cream and enjoy all over again!

I came up with this recipe because sausage sounded good, I needed a last minute dinner option and I had some cabbage and some vegetable stock on hands. Plus, let's face it, hot stew in the winter always works.

Recipe:

1lb sausage
1/2 cabbage cut into 1" chunks
1/2 finely diced onion
2 cans kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cartons vegetable stock
salt & pepper

I browned the sausage in a stock pot and when it was finished I added the onion and cabbage and sauteed them in the sausage and drippings.  When the cabbage and onions were cooked through I added all the other ingredients and then brought the stew to a boil then returned it to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Yup, that's it...it was FANTASTIC!  Serve with fresh bread and you've got a meal!

We love pumpkin around here.  We make pumpkin cookies, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin bread, and the ever easy pumpkin muffins.  I usually have a good plan of freezing some of the muffins for a day when we are too busy to bake a batch, but I rarely am able to get any of them into the freezer as they usually get eaten too quickly (my 3 y/o can eat 4 muffins in one sitting if I allow it).

My favorite way to make pumpkin muffins is with real pumpkin from the garden that I have frozen in 2 cup batches from summer, I have run out at this point and used canned pumpkin for this most recent batch...but the best are when I can go from picture 1 to picture 2 here.

So, for the recipe...

2  2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening (we usually use coconut oil)
2/3 cup water
16 oz pumpkin (1 can or 2 cups of frozen pumpkin meat)
4 eggs
3  1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1  1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves (or 1 drop clove essential oil)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Mix sugar and shortening and slowly add pumpkin, eggs and water.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Bake in muffin tins with liners for 22-26 minutes. This usually makes around 3 dozen muffins or you can change it up with making part muffins and part pumpkin bread, just keep in mind that the loaves will bake for around 50-55 minutes vs. the time for the muffins.

We really like them with real butter or cream cheese...enjoy!

Back when we started trying to eat healthier (read: less processed foods) I began trying to make most things from scratch.  I quit buying granola bars, breads, buns, canned soups, etc.  One of the things I have missed is a quick addition of some cream of chicken, or cream of mushroom soup.  However, the canned version has a lot of uneccesary ingredients, including the ever popular soy byproducts.  Here is a list of the ingredients in Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup: 

INGREDIENTS

WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.


I really don't have any idea why most of that is in there, but we choose to stay away from most forms of canola, corn and soybean oil as most (up to 80%) produced in the U.S. contain GMO (Genetically Modified Organisims)

    SIDE NOTE: What are GMO's and why are they bad? CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO A DETAILED EXPLANATION ON CONSUMER REPORTS WEBSITE.   
How common are GMOs?
In the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food. (http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/)
 WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? (also from Consumer Reports)
You may be surprised to know that the federal government has not mandated that genetically modified organisms be proved safe before they're used in your food. But safety assessments are mandatory in other major developed countries, including China, Japan, and the countries of the European Union. Some animal studies suggest that GMOs may cause damage to the immune system, liver, and kidneys.

One last link...http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs


Off my soapbox now and on to the recipe...

    My friend (the same one who told me about homemade toothpaste) has used this basic recipe and shared it with me.  It was a winner!  When made this recipe can be frozen in 2 cup portions and then added whenever there is a need for processed cream of mushroom soup.  I am so very happy now because it is DELICIOUS!

4-6 cups chopped mushrooms
1 chopped onion
3-4 T real butter
Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
3-4 cups heavy whipping cream (Aldi for $1.98)
2-4 T flour (white or wheat)
1-2 cups chicken broth (homemade chicken stock recipe here)

I first bought a large batch of portabella mushrooms from Costco ($4.99 for 2lbs).  I chopped the mushrooms and onions and sauteed in the butter also adding the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

After the mushrooms and onions were significantly cooked I made a bit of a roux by slowly adding in my flour as a thickener.  Afterwards I began to slowly add the chicken broth.  Though the original recipe called for 3 cups of broth, I found that made the soup too watery so I believe I dialed it down to 1 1/2 cups.  After sauteeing for a bit you then stir in the flour (I used a whisk) and then add cream....yum!  I ended up with 6 bags of portioned out 2 cup servings to freeze. 

 I believe my total cost was $4.99 for the mushrooms, $1.89 x 2 for the creamer and the chicken broth was homemade stock I had in the freezer so out of pocket the cost was $8.47 divided by the 6 "can's worth" of frozen cream of mushroom soup making each serving cost $1.40.  This is a bit higher than the .99 that Campbells Cream of Mushroom costs but I have to say it tastes soooo much better.  I also feel better about using it.

Last growing season was my great attempt at growing organic potatoes.  It worked pretty well save for the occasional antectodal story (click here).  At the end of the growing season I wanted to be sure to save the spuds to enjoy through the winter.  There are many ways to prep potatoes for just that.  I have heard of keeping them in a laundry basket (air can circulate) in one's basement, layering them in dirt in large tote type containers, layering them in wood shavings, etc.  

I assure you I really did mean to get to one of these types of suggestions...but frankly.  I forgot.  I harvested my potatoes, plunked them into a bucket and stuck them into the garage.  Then, well, I am ashamed to say, I kind of forgot about them.  So, when I had a craving for potato soup and I came up short, I went looking for that bucket.  Know what I found?  My 5 gallon bucket was there waiting for me and with no special preparation my potatoes were doing just fine.  Only problem?  When the potatoes are still covered with a thin layer of dirt it is difficult to tell which kind of potato you have (I grew yellow, red, and purple in the garden).  So what I ended up with was 3 potato soup.  Funny, huh?  It was actually tasty enough that I will plan on doing this again!

Here is a rough version of what I did:

approx 5 cups potatoes (peeled & chopped)
1 stalk celery
2 peeled & chopped carrots
1/2 diced onion
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 cups chicken broth (can use water or bouillon in a pinch)
1-2 cups milk (but cream is better)
shredded cheese as desired

I peeled and chopped about 5 cups of potatoes and put them into a pot with just enough chicken broth to barely cover the potatoes (you don't want them drowning your your soup will be too watery).  I then chopped half an onion, 2 carrots and 1 stalk of celery and added it all to the pot.  I brought it to a boil, then to a simmer until the potatoes were fork tender.  At that point, I salted, peppered and added about 1 1/2 -2 cups of milk, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and viola!  A new recipie was born.

This last summer when my garden was in full swing and I had more basil and tomatoes then I knew what to do with I made up this recipie for Fresh tomato basil pesto tortilla pizza (click here for the post).  I was blessed with a significant abundance of the basil that I grew in pots on the back deck (best place I have found to grow basil). Therefore, I froze some of the pesto knowing that I would appreciate revisiting that fresh summer taste in the cold winter months...so glad I thought ahead!  In addition to the frozen pesto, I made "sun" dried tomatoes (okay so this is a misnomer as they are actually oven dried but same difference, right?) and I bagged those for freezer storage as well.  So, to recap, in the summer I have this:

To using this as my winter substitute:

I still made the recipie the same way I just substituted sun dried tomatoes for the fresh ones (I can't stand the flavorless tomatoes that the grocery store carries in the winter months) and I unfroze the pesto that I had made this last summer. (Recipie Here)

Then I re-made the summer recipie

1 flour tortilla (per pizza)
1 T. pesto
chopped sun dried tomatoes

sprinkle of mozzarella cheese
dash of salt
1-2 T. Olive oil.

First heat the olive oil on medium high in your skillet and fry the tortilla (you cold skip this step if you are trying to make a healthier version, you would just brown the tortilla on both sides in a non-stick skillet)  but, trust me, it is worth the calories to do it the original way.  Fry both sides till slightly browned and kinda crunchy.

Next (after browning both sides of the tortilla) add your 1 T. (more or less to taste) of pesto and smear it around with a spoon while your tortilla is still in the pan.

Top with shredded Mozzarella...Then I turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or plate for about 2 minutes to melt the cheese...Get ready and VIOLA!!!


I have to say though that I am a anxiously awaiting when I can get back to seeing this on the back deck....oh summer!

As a child one of my favorite memories of snow is making snow ice cream.  It is something I remember doing with many of my family members and it always seemed so magical to me to be able to whip up a batch of my very own ice cream, in minutes, in my own kitchen.  I also remember that since it was so simple (really no recipie is needed) that I was allowed to mix it myself.  I have passed this tradition on to my children and they squeal with delight whenever there is fresh-fallen snow because they love to make snow-cream.  

At our house we do have a dairy allergy so often times you will see me substitute Almond Milk for Cow's milk.  This time we made two batches, one with Almond milk and one with Cow's milk.  They were equally delicious!

Here is the "recipie" if you will...Milk, Sugar, Vanilla.  Thats it.  It really doesn't matter what your ratios are as long as you don't add enough milk to turn your ice cream into ice-soup, though if you do you just call it a snow milkshake.  So, go slow with the milk and add sugar and vanilla to taste.  (oh, and don't use the yellow snow...you get that right?)

The accomplished chef and the patient patron:

Ahhhh, success at at last!

The freshly fallen snow here definately took me by surprise.  I guess I just wasn't paying attention to the forecast (I mean when you don't watch t.v. or the news I guess thats what happens!).  When we woke I must say I was very thankful for having heat in our home.  I don't know why but for some reason snow days make me want to bake. 

 I had some less than desirable bananas sitting on the counter that I had been meaning to get to for a few days so why not make some banana bread muffins for the kids.  Oh, and there were some leftover pecans from Christmas baking so that would make a delicious addition.  I got to work turning this...                                   into this...

The recipie I use for these is:

1 Cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter (no substitutions)
2 farm fresh eggs
3-4 very overripe bananas (the more black the better)
1/3 cup water
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Heat oven to 350. Prepare muffin tins (this makes me about 20 muffins) Mix sugar and butter, stir in eggs, add bananas and water.  Beat 30 seconds.  Then stir in remaning ingredients and pour into prepared muffin tins.  Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpic comes out clean when inserted.

I forgot that I also had a LOT of help!

After using up the overripe bananas my 3 y/o made a breakfast request I just couldn't ignore...(the way he says it is super cute).  He requested some BIG oatmeal. This is 3 y/o speak for my delicous BAKED oatmeal.  And we still had some banans that were not overripe, and still had that bag of pecans.  Let me just say that this was AMAZING!  It was like banana bread cake or something...YUM!

Here is my original post http://www.incidentalfarmgirl.com/blog/baked-oatmeal on this yumminess that we make so often.  This time I just added a twist by cutting a whole banana up in chunks (not disks but quartered disks) and tossing in some pecans (about 1/2 cup).  I also added 1/4 cup of applesauce in addition to to the 1/2 cup olive oil which made it super moist!

I really have no idea where he comes up with these ideas.  The unfortunate part of marrying a man who is very inventive in the kitchen, and a great cook, is that sometimes I just can't outdo him. (unless its baking of course, he can't touch my baking!)  

We have been doing a lot of cooking lately and needed a quick lunch fix.  I smelled a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen and there stood hubby with a waffle-dilla if you will.  It was a brilliant hack as the whole thing was ready in about 2 minutes flat whereas our normal quesadilla making in the skillet takes quite a bit longer.  (especiallly because of how many quesadillas we have to make) They were delicious.  Simply 2 tortillas, shredded cheese of your choice (I prefer colby jack or monteray jack) and a waffle iron.  That simple.  Well done hubby, well done.

This makes a fantastic Christmas morning Breakfast, and it also happens to be hands down the best coffee cake I have ever tasted, we have been making this for years.  

Recipie:
Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  
  
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Raspberry Preserves (can sub strawberry too)
• GLAZE:
• 1-2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 T. melted butter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, shortening, extracts, baking powder and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended; beat on high for 3 minutes (VERY IMPORTANT TO BEAT FOR 3 MINUTES...makes it light and fluffy!). Stir in flour. (don't forget the flour, I have done this and lets just say it becomes...well, inedible...
2. Spread two-thirds of the batter into a greased 15-1/2-in. x 10-1/2-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Spread pie filling over batter; drop remaining batter by tablespoonful over filling. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden. Combine the confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over coffee cake. 

A few years back I stopped buying bread and buns at the grocery.  I figrued it was just healthier and cheaper if I made them, and they tasted better too.  I love that my breads, rolls, and buns only have a few ingredients (and I can pronounce all of them) and are all free from high fructose corn syrup and other additives.  

I missed the go-to easyness of a bag of burger buns until I found this recipie because it is really easy and forgiving enough even for the faint of heart.  The actual prep time is about 15 minutes then bake time but they are so worth it!

I gleaned the original recipie from Taste of Home but as always I tweak things a bit.

Ingredients

•  2 tablespoons active dry yeast
•  1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1 egg
  
•  1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
3. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 1 dozen.

So, I performed step #1 (before and after the 5 minutes) and here is what it looks like in pictures:

Many of my friends who do not make homemade bread say that the kneading part confuses them, it is not hard.  I just double the lump of bread over on itself again and again, when the recipie says until not sticky and elastic it should kind of bounce back when you pull a section and not just break off immediately...like this:

I form my dough into balls by taking a section and pushing it through a circle that I have made from my thumb and first finger.  The bottom of the roll ends up looking like this:

Finally I bake and the entire house is filled with a heavenly baking bread aroma!

We cut them open, butter them and brown them in a skillet before adding our delicious burgers.  I added some colorful red, white and purple fingerling potatoes and we have a meal!

This bread is absolutely fabulous!  I just made some yesterday to give as Christmas gifts to a few friends and it is so rich and delicious!  I did fail to snap a photo yesterday so I had to borrow the above stock photo from Taste of Home.  The original recipie has been tweaked by me enough that I cannot claim the recipie to be theirs any longer.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Baking Cocoa
  
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1-1/2 cups (10 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, sour cream and butter until smooth. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.
2. Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. 
3. Once cooled melt additional chocolate chips with 1tsp Crisco or Coconut oil and drizzle over the top.

All I can say is...go get a large glass of milk!

I don't typically like sweet potatoes but this was a dish that an aunt brought to Thanksgiving dinner a number of years ago and it was a hit!  I did not have her exact recipie so I came up with something that is very close.  This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving with a different side of the family but this dish is so much a favorite that I chose it as my go to for the Thanksgiving Celebration.

How to go from this to this  to this (using real sweet potatoes is the ONLY way to go!)

First I baked the 4 sweet potatoes at 375 for about an hour and a half.  I just stabbed them a time or two with a fork and put them on a cookie sheet, that's it!  I baked them until I could squeeze the outside and it was squishy (how do you like that technical term?)

Ingredients:
4-6 baked sweet potatoes
1/2 cup white sugar
2 beaten eggs
4 T softened butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk (can sub cream)
1 tsp vanilla

Topping: 
1 Cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup flour (can skip this for gluten free recipie)
6 T softened buter
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 325.  Scrape the potato out of the skin and put into a mixing bowl.  Add all other ingredients and mix well. (If you want super smooth with zero chunks you may want to puree the sweet potato in a food processor or blender first, I however, was satisfied with just mixing it really well)

Place mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  In a separate bowl mix ingredients for topping and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.

Bake 30 minutes...then thank me!

I have a confession...I love hot cocoa.  I also love to make hot cocoa for my children.  We all love hot cocoa...and chocolate milk...and chocolate sauce...you get the picture?  This morning as I awoke to about 4 inches of snow I decided this was an appropriate post because, I want cocoa.

When I first had children I used to buy Nestle brand cocoa and make a quick and easy cup, but as I had more children and the price of the Nestle kept climbing I realized that I had to come up with a better alternative for my sweet tooth.  I decided it would be so much more economical to just make my own cocoa.  

It is so very simple that I now wish I could go back and get all that money I spent on Nestle cocoa back...I was quite naive!

All you need is a 2:1 ratio of sugar and cocoa powder.  I usually mix it up by using 1/2 cup cocoa and 1 cup sugar.  Really, it's that simple.  When I make the cocoa I just put a pan on the stove with milk, heat the milk and whisk in several tablespoons of my cocoa mix to taste.  If I really want to make it delectable I add in a tsp or so of vanilla or almond extract after I pull the cocoa off the stove (Peppermint is also another favorite).  I refuse to buy those Swiss Miss packets because for one they are too watery and for two, this is so much better.  If you wanted to make your own "swiss miss" style where you add only water, you just make the mix I mentioned and add powdered milk to it.  Personally, I prefer the real milk though.

I love tea, almost as much as a good cup of coffee.  I have a few favorites and I recently ran out of one of my go-to blends from a company called Stash tea.  Being the resourceful gal that I am, I decided to try to make some of my own Lemon Ginger tea.  I was especially interested in this as I have been reading lately about how beneficial fresh ginger is to boosting one's immune system, as well as clearing out chest congestion.  So, I figured I would give it a go.

I just got some fresh ginger from the health food store (though I know Kroger and Walmart carry it too) and a lemon.  Really, that's it!  I use mason jars for so many things so I decided on a quart jar.  I grated the ginger with my cheese grater and I think I ended up with around 2 Tablespoons of ground ginger...this packs quite a kick!  I then squeezed in 1/3 of my lemon.

After adding my two simple ingredients I boiled some water on the stove and filled the mason jar with boiling water.  I let it sit for about an hour and then had to try a taste...WOOOOHOOOO!  I decided that this recipie was a keeper, but, I would call this a concentrate.  I ended up pouring myself half a cup with my lemon ginger mix and adding another half of water as it was just too strong for this farmgirl.  I found that when it was hot with lemon it was fantastic and quieted a tickly cough I have had for almost a month now.  When I put it in the fridge to store it overnight I drank it cold the next day with a little sugar swirled in and it almost tasted like lemonade with a kick.  

This is a new keeper in this household, especially since it is a healthy mix of immunity boosting and vitamin C power!